This document provides information on how to succeed in a crowdfunding campaign. It discusses the different types of crowdfunding (peer-to-peer, equity, and donations), and highlights important platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, RocketHub, Fundable, and Crowdfunder. Key tips include researching the best platform for your project, setting achievable goals, generating buzz to share your campaign, and looking at examples of past successful campaigns for guidance. Tax incentives like SEIS and EIS are also summarized.

1. HOW TO SUCCEED IN A SUCCESSFUL CROWD FUNDING CAMPAIGN
Do you have the perfect idea for a product but lack the capital to make it come to
life?
Then crowdfunding could be just what you need and it is worth exploring but if you
are going to go down this avenue research and do it thoroughly.
1. You need to know if you are going to prepare for P2P Crowd Funding or
Equity Crowd Funding or donation – there are others but these are the most
used and growing.
Peer to Peer Crowd funding this was what first hit the UK from USA in 2014 and took
the UK by storm and indeed with our then ALTERNATIVE FINANCE PLATFORM we
noticed that the demand increased and thus I then became a Broker approved for
Funding Circle who leads the UK in this field.
What is P2P Crowd Funding – they are a debt/loan and is investment is raised by
using a large number of investors. When sourcing larger investment amounts using
Crowd Funding I like to advise to clients that they use a platform where other similar
business models have been successful and use it for a smaller amount than they
need to raise more PR awareness of their product or service.
We originally worked with Funding Circle and have added others to our Portfolio of
platforms that we trust and has worked for our members.
Equity Crowd Funding is where Investors hang out to invest in your business
model in return for equity/shares in your business so know and be prepared what
you are comfortable to give away. We enjoy working with Crowd Cube who have
over 200,000 investors awaiting for you to upload your business idea.
There are many more innovative platforms springing up in the UK and some from our
Nordic cousins who we will be working with in 2016 who I feel offer a fresher
approach to this model of raising investment. Some even offer both loan and
investment on the same platform as does Invesdor our new Partner for 2016. This
company even supports your preparation for Crowd Funding and directs and guides
you. www.invesdor.com
This industry in the UK was worth £3.2b in 2016 and they predict it will even treble in
2016.
Even though Seders hit the 100million mark invested by Feb 2016 since June 2012
and 38000 businesses from early stage to growth having been invested. In my view
this is the reasons below re TAX RELIEF as below to use their platform.
SEIS
The first scheme, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), encourages investment in
qualifying new seed-stage startups companies by providing individuals with 50% of their
investment back in income tax relief. Plus, in the 2014/2015 tax year investors can benefit
from 50% capital gains tax relief on gains which are reinvested in SEIS eligible shares. Also,

2. any gain arising on the disposal of the shares may be exempt from capital gains tax, and loss
relief is available if the disposal results in a loss.
EIS
The second scheme, the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), is designed to encourage
investment in qualifying slightly later-stage companies by providing investors with up to 30%
of their investment back in income tax relief. Plus investors can defer any capital gains tax on
gains which are reinvested in EIS eligible shares, gains arising on the disposal of the shares
may be exempt from capital gains tax, and loss relief is available if the disposal results in a
loss.
UK tax payers should note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of
each client and may be subject to change in future. To learn more about how SEIS or EIS
works, please read the online HMRC guidance or contact your professional tax advisor.
These schemes provide great incentives for UK taxpayers who are either active investors or
are just looking to support their friends and family in their entrepreneurial projects. Many
Seedrs campaigns are looking to raise investment under one of these schemes and are
identified as eligible with a small SEIS or EIS logo. Seedrs offers a simple and
straightforward way to invest in a wide range of SEIS and EIS eligible companies and we
take care of all the paperwork to help investors claim back their reliefs.
It gives you the ability to raise money from a collective group of people who are
connected through the internet and want to support your project.
And it's extremely popular these days.
But before you dive into your first campaign, it's important to determine which of the
many crowdfunding sites is right for you.
Let's explore the top five crowdfunding platforms for entrepreneurs and businesses
in terms of popularity, types of projects funded, and other basic information so you
can choose the best one for your business.
The Benefits of Crowdfunding
First off, you may wonder why you would want to use a crowdfunding platform to
launch and fund your project. Here are a few reasons to consider.
 You don't have to give away control, a stake in your company, or future revenue in
exchange for funding (like on Shark Tank for example).
 Crowdfunding your idea will force you to set achievable goals and hold you
accountable for meeting them.
 People love to share and tell their friends about projects they've backed and major
media outlets tend to report on crowdfunding success stories.

3. So whether you need the funding for your business or not, crowdfunding may be a
good option for generating buzz about your idea.
In addition, the fact that you will get a strong customer base right from the start is
also a big plus.
Now, let's look at the top crowdfunding websites for entrepreneurs and businesses.
Note that some popular crowdfunding sites were left out of this post because they
are only for non-profits and causes vs. businesses and retail product development.
Kickstarter
Fees: 5% if you meet your goal plus payment processing fees.
Payments: Amazon Payments
Categories: Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Food, Games, Music,
Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theatre
Kickstarter is the most well-known crowdfunding platform for people in the US and
UK. Since it launched in 2009, they have helped connect backers with 42,000
projects for a total of $649 million raised.
According to Quantcast, their website receives 9.9 million visits per month globally,
which is no doubt a contributing factor as to why so many Kickstarter projects get
funding.
The most funded project to date is the Pebble, an e-paper watch for iPhone. Their
goal was $100,000 and they received over $10 million from 68,929 backers.
Once nice part about using Kickstarter is there are a lot of resources on how to
create a successful campaign. You can start with our guide to running a successful
Kickstarter campaign. You can also see some great examples of successful
Kickstarter campaigns on Inc and read Mint's guide to a successful Kickstarter
campaign.
To boost the visibility of your Kickstarter, refer to 21 Places to Promote Your
Kickstarter Campaign and 30 People to Promote Your Kickstarter Campaign. When
your campaign is successfully funded, you can read about how to fulfill orders for
your Kickstarter backers using Shopify.
Indiegogo

4. Fees: 4% if you meet your goal, 9% if you don't plus payment processing fees.
Payments: Paypal, ACH, Wire Transfer, or FirstGiving
Categories: Art, Comic, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film, Gaming, Music,
Photography, Theatre, Transmedia, Video, Writing, Causes, and Entrepreneurial
(Food, Small Business, Sports, and Technology)
Indiegogo is a worldwide crowdfunding platform that supports businesses, artists,
and non-profits. They launched in 2008 with the goal of making sure that anyone,
anywhere could have their dreams realized.
The most funded project to date is the Let's Build a Tesla Museum. Their goal was
$850,000 and they received $1.3 million from 33,253 funders.
Be sure to read Indiegogo's Crowdfunding Tips for Campaigners that covers
everything from getting started to after the campaign ends. You can also find a year
in review of successful Indiegogo campaigns on Mashable.
RocketHub
Fees: 4% if you meet your goal, 8% if you don't plus payment processing fees.
Payments: Secure Check or Digital Payment

5. Categories: Art, Business, Science, and Social
RocketHub is a worldwide crowdfunding platform that gained exposure through the
A&E networks. They have empowered businesses, governments, educators, and
communities in over 1,500 projects and are the leaders in crowdfunding education.
Currently, the most funded project to date is Extra Credits, a show about game
design and the good games do. Their goal was $15,000 and they received $153,000
from 3,824 funders.
No matter what crowdfunding network you use, be sure to look at RocketHub's
Success School for insider knowledge and tools that can help you achieve your
goals.
Fundable
Fees: $99 per month during active campaigns plus payment processing fees.
Payments: WePay
Categories: Startups
Fundable is a crowdfunding platform that allows startups to offer rewards or equity in
exchange for funding. According to the site, startups that offer rewards typically raise
up to $50,000, whereas startups that offer equity usually raise more.
The most funded project to date is DecisionDesk, an application tracking system for
educational institutions. Their goal was $1.25 million and which they met.
If you decide to run a Fundable campaign, refer to their blog post on gearing up for a
successful crowdfund.
Crowdfunder

6. Fees: 5% if you meet your goals plus payment processing fees.
Payments: Amazon Payments
Categories: Advertising to Wholesale
Crowdfunder is a crowdfunding platform for US based businesses with a product or
service. They help connect your business to their local networks of 20,000
entrepreneurs and investors.
The most funded project to date is It's For Life, a company producing consumable
and convenient health products. Their goal was $7,500 and they received $12,000
from 44 funders.
Before you begin, visit the Crowdfunder Knowledge Center for 3 Steps to Campaign
Success. You can also watch a Google+ Hangout with online and offline fundraising
success strategies.
How to Get Funded
Regardless of which crowdfunding site you choose, here are some things you can do
to make sure your campaign is successful.
 Focus on creating a high quality, confident and convincing video. Most project
profiles lead with a video and it's usually what people rely on when trying to decide
whether to back a project.
 Offer rewards that people will actually want. Put yourself in your customer's shoes
when planning your reward levels and incentives.
 Set a realistic funding goal. Crowdfunding websites are meant to give you the
amount needed to cover your costs and get your project off of the ground, not to
make you a millionaire.
 Promote, promote, promote. Every day until the end of your campaign, promote your
project everywhere and in every way that you can. We run Crowd Funding
Campaigns for our members which cost as little at £950.00 using our email
marketing tools complimented by our Social Media tools to feed your campaign posts
into Social Media impacted releases all through www.gateway2digital.co.uk . A lot
cheaper than hiring staff to implement this or outsource to Marketing companies.
 Reach out to bloggers and reporters who write about similar crowdfunding projects.
Depending on the type of campaign, you could receive mentions on major networks

7. like CNN, Mashable, Techcrunch and others. These types of mentions can have a
great impact on whether your project is successfully funded or not.
 Product images are important and professional photography goes a long way.
Images can easily go viral on networks like Pinterest and Reddit and Instagram
driving even more traffic to your campaign
TOP TIPS FOR EQUITY CROWD FUNDING – www.invesdor.com
1. Don’t crowd fund too soon – make sure you have traction – sales
2. Have a video of 3-5 mins
3. Pitch Deck – slides 12 min
4. Have a justified valuation
5. Measure your traction against KPIs
6. Test the market – email marketing campaign to your raving fans
7. Be careful of FSMA – selling of shares to potential high net worth
investors
8. Keep it simple
9. Have a one-line strap line to introduce your concept
10.Don’t get side tracked from making it too PR salesie
11.Aim to have at least 30-50% raised before going public – Invesdor
support your journey of 30%
12.Justify your Q/A’s be prepared
13.Meet your Investors in person if they request
14.Have your Investors sign a NDA
15.Be honest and be you – have a personality
16.
OUR OWN INHOUSE CROWD FUNDING TEAM TO SUPPORT
We have within our Finance Relationship Team Experts that can source the right
type of Crowd Funding platform for you and we prepare for this platform as we know
how to as supported X in 2016 raise £3.2m equity Crowd Funding – NW
technology/data.
From September 2016 we will be running a FULL DAY WORKSHOP London
Manchester on ‘RAISING FINANCE/INVESTMENT to start/grow a business –
including our Guests Invesdor our Crowd Funding Partners. Email us to reserve a
place.
Karen Melonie Gould
CEO/Founder www.gateway2enterprise.co.uk /karen@gateway2enterprise.co.uk